Having succeeded his father as
Baron Selsdon at the age of 25, he took his seat in the
House of Lords on 30 July 1963. He made his
maiden speech on 9 December 1970 in a debate entitled
Pollution and Protection of the Environment. His next speech was in a debate on the
EEC: British entry negotiations on 19 January 1971. In his third speech he seconded the ''Address in Reply to Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech'' by
Lady Macleod of Borve (widow of
Iain Macleod) on 2 November 1971, an honour given him after he caught the eye of fellow
Wykehamist and EEC enthusiast
Lord Jellicoe,
Leader of the House of Lords. Seldson was a delegate to the
Council of Europe from 1972 to 1978. He chaired the Committee for Middle East Trade from 1979 to 1986 and was a member of the British Overseas Trade Board and the Eastern European Trade Council. He was one of the 90
hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the
House of Lords Act 1999, sitting as a
Conservative. His membership ended on 11 May 2021 due to non-attendance. At the time, in his 58th year of service, he was the second longest-serving member of the House of Lords after
Lord Trefgarne. ==Business career==